Quality assurance processing for a scanned document

ABSTRACT

A document processing system performs quality assurance processing after scanning to assure all needed processing is performed for the physical document and the corresponding electronic document. The quality assurance processing can include verifying the document being reviewed is the same as the document stored in the document management system, verifying the image quality for each page in the scanned document, and verifying a disposition policy for the physical document. Other processing for both the physical document and electronic document may also be performed during quality assurance processing.

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

This disclosure generally relates to processing of documents, and morespecifically relates to quality assurance of scanned documents.

2. Background Art

Computer systems have vastly improved the efficiency of many modernworkers by providing ways to quickly and efficiently generate and handleelectronic documents. Many software tools have been developed thatgenerate and/or process electronic documents in various ways, includingword processors, spreadsheets, databases, scanning software, web pagedevelopment systems, content management systems, hypertext markuplanguage (HTML), extensible markup language (XML), etc. It has long beenthe goal of many people in the information processing field to realize a“paperless office”, which means an office where physical paper documentsare completely replaced with electronic documents. One impediment torealizing the goal of a paperless office is the great number ofdifferent types of documents that a typical business receives fromoutside sources that must be processed.

When a paper document is received by a business that is striving torealize the goal of a paperless office, the paper document is typicallyscanned into electronic form. However, in order for the document to bedigitally filed in a structured filing system, the document must haveindexing information added to the scanned document. Examples of indexinginformation include: document type, customer number, contract number,dollar amount, and other suitable metadata that describes the document.The process of manually entering indexing information for each scanneddocument has been a significant bottleneck in the realization of thegoal of a paperless office. For each paper document that is scanned, ahuman operator must scan the document, then manually enter indexinginformation to allow the document processing systems to recognize, storeand retrieve the new document. With a company that receives hundreds orthousands of paper documents each day, this requires a dedication ofsignificant resources to scan the documents and enter the correspondingindex information. Many companies prefer to do business by processingthe papers instead of dedicating the resources to adapt their businesssystems to converting the papers to electronic documents, thenprocessing the electronic documents.

Various systems have been developed to allow a user to more efficientlyenter indexing information for a document. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos.6,192,165 and 6,427,032 owned by ImageTag, Inc. disclose systems inwhich a user creates index information in a record in a database for apaper document before the document is scanned, places a label with aunique identifier on the paper document, then scans the paper document.The system detects the label with the unique identifier in the scannedimage, locates the index record in the database that corresponds to theunique identifier, then stores the scanned document with the indexrecord in the database.

Sometimes the scanned images of pages of a scanned document can haveerrors or can be incomplete. For example, two pages could have fedthrough a scanner document feeder at the same time, resulting in amissing page. Part of a page image may be cut off, making the page imageincomplete. If the physical document is placed into the scanned documentfeeder with one of the pages upside down, the page will have anincorrect orientation. As a result, a scanned document can have errorsas discussed above, as well as other errors.

BRIEF SUMMARY

Quality assurance processing after scanning assures all neededprocessing is performed for the physical document and the correspondingelectronic document. The quality assurance processing can includeverifying the document being reviewed is the same as the document storedin the document management system, verifying the image quality for eachpage in the scanned document, and verifying a disposition policy for thephysical document.

The foregoing and other features and advantages will be apparent fromthe following more particular description, as illustrated in theaccompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING(S)

The disclosure will be described in conjunction with the appendeddrawings, where like designations denote like elements, and:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a computer system that implements adocument processing system;

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of a prior art method for handling paperdocuments;

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of a prior art method for handling both paperand electronic documents;

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of a prior art method for processing paperdocuments into electronic documents;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram that shows additional details of the documentreservation mechanism 142 shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a first sample document dispositionpolicy;

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a second sample document dispositionpolicy;

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a third sample document dispositionpolicy;

FIG. 9 is a flow diagram of a method for defining and schedulingdisposition of a document;

FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing examples of quality assuranceprocessing;

FIG. 11 is a flow diagram of a method for processing documents thatincludes steps shown in FIG. 9;

FIG. 12 is a sample display showing a document reservation session for adocument showing metadata entered by a user for the document;

FIG. 13 is a sample display showing a document reservation session for adocument that shows how a user can define a disposition policy for thedocument during the reservation session;

FIG. 14 is a table showing two default disposition policies according todocument type;

FIG. 15 is a flow diagram of a method for using the disposition policyfor a paper document when handling the paper document;

FIG. 16 is a flow diagram of a method for verifying a physical documentshould be destroyed before destroying the physical document;

FIG. 17 is a flow diagram of a method for handling a paper document thatneeds to be scanned and stored electronically;

FIG. 18 is a flow diagram of a method for creating a reservation in acomputer system for a paper document that needs to be scanned and storedelectronically;

FIG. 19 is a flow diagram of a method for scanning a document for whicha reservation was previously created according to the method in FIG. 18and for storing the resulting electronic document;

FIG. 20 is a flow diagram of a method for performing quality assuranceprocessing for a document that was previously scanned according to themethod in FIG. 19;

FIG. 21 is a flow diagram of a method that is one example of animplementation for steps 2030 and 2050 in FIG. 20;

FIG. 22 is a flow diagram of a method that is one example of animplementation for step 2030 in FIG. 20; and

FIG. 23 is a flow diagram of a method for performing processing for aphysical document.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The claims and disclosure herein provide a document processing systemthat performs quality assurance processing after scanning to assure allneeded processing is performed for the physical document and thecorresponding electronic document. The quality assurance processing caninclude verifying the document being reviewed is the same as thedocument stored in the document management system, verifying the imagequality for each page in the scanned document, and verifying adisposition policy for the physical document. Other processing for boththe physical document and electronic document may also be performedduring quality assurance processing.

Some background information is now presented to give context that willaid the reader in understanding the discussion below. Referring to FIG.2, a prior art method 200 represents how paper documents have beenhandled in the past in companies who have defined policies for handlingpaper documents. A paper document is received (step 210). The paperdocument is then filed in the appropriate file (step 220). Note the term“appropriate file” in method 200 refers to a paper file folder stored ina filing cabinet or other suitable storage system for paper files. Atsome point the document is determined to be inactive (step 230). Forexample, in a law firm, the paper document can become inactive when afile for a particular matter is closed. The final disposition of thepaper document is determined (step 240). When the final disposition isto shred the document (step 250=SHRED), the document is shredded (step260). When the final disposition of the document is to keep the document(step 250=KEEP), the document is stored in long-term storage (step 270).Many companies, especially law firms, have implemented policies thatkeep inactive documents in long-term storage for a long time. This oftenrequires off-site storage of documents in a warehouse. Needless to say,the expense associated with boxing the document, identifying which filesand documents are in each box, and transporting the boxes of documentsto the warehouse, increase the cost of dealing with the document. Inaddition, the ongoing cost of maintaining the warehouse can becomesignificant. Some companies are also finding that long-term storage ofarchived documents can be undesirable when there is no documentretention policy in place to destroy documents after some defined timeperiod. For example, some companies have retained documents in long-termstorage that contain information that can be damaging to the company ifthe company is ever sued. As a result, many companies have made effortsto more actively manage their document retention and destructionprocesses.

Referring to FIG. 3, a prior art method 300 shows how the process ofmanaging documents is complicated when both paper documents andelectronic documents must be managed. A paper document is received (step310). The paper document is scanned to create an electronic document(step 320). The electronic document is then stored (step 330) and thepaper document is filed in the appropriate paper file (step 340). At anappropriate point in time, a final disposition of the paper document isdetermined (step 360). When the final disposition of the paper documentis to shred the paper document (step 362=SHRED), the paper document isshredded (step 364). When the final disposition of the paper document isto keep the document (step 362=KEEP), the paper document is stored inlong-term storage (step 366). Note there may be other final dispositionsof the paper document not shown in FIG. 3, such as to mail the paperdocument to the client. The final disposition of the electronic documentis also determined (step 370). When the final disposition of theelectronic document is to purge the electronic document (step374=PURGE), the electronic document is purged (step 374), which meansthe electronic document is deleted. This may also include deleting anybackups of the electronic document so the electronic document isliterally gone and cannot be recovered later. When the final dispositionof the electronic document is to keep the electronic document (step372=KEEP), the electronic document is stored in a suitable documentarchive for electronic documents (step 376). Note the suitable documentarchive could be the same location where the electronic document wasoriginally stored, or can be a different location.

FIG. 3 makes it clear that when a company scans documents, it mustseparately manage the paper and the electronic documents. The finaldisposition of the paper document may be different than the finaldisposition of the electronic document. A company who manages both paperand electronic documents typically has separate processes that managedisposition of the paper and electronic documents. These processes arenot integrated into the process for creating the electronic document. Inaddition, the processes often must accommodate different personalities.For example, a senior lawyer at a law firm may mandate that all of thepaper and electronic documents for his files is kept for a minimum of 20years, even though the law firm policy is to destroy both paper andelectronic documents 5 years after a file is closed. Companies are thusfaces with trying to integrate various manual processes andcomputer-based processes in a way that accommodates a wide range ofdocument disposition preferences. What is needed is a more uniform wayto specify and manage document disposition.

As discussed above in the Background section, ImageTag, Inc. developedsystems that allow a user to create index information in a record in adatabase for a paper document before the paper document is scanned,place a label with a unique identifier on the paper document, then scanthe paper document. The system detects the label with the uniqueidentifier, locates the index record in the database that corresponds tothe unique identifier on the label, then stores the scanned documentwith the index record in the database. Method 400 in FIG. 4 isrepresentative of a method performed by a product known as KwikTagmarketed by ImageTag, Inc. A paper document is received (step 410). Areservation for the document is created (step 420). A reservation iscreated typically by invoking the KwikTag software to perform a “taggingsession”. During the tagging session, the user specifies metadata forthe document, including the globally unique identifier on the next labelin the user's label dispenser (step 430). The user then applies thecorresponding label with the globally unique identifier to the document(step 440). In the most preferred implementation, the user applies thecorresponding label to the paper document by placing an adhesive labelon the first page of the document. In an alternative implementation, theuser applies the corresponding label to the paper document by printing acover sheet with the label. At some later point in time, the document isscanned (step 450), which creates one or more images that represent thescanned document. For the discussion herein, the “scanned image”includes all of the pages in the document for a multi-page document. Thelabel on the document is read (step 460). The globally unique identifieron the label is extracted from the label (step 470). The document imageis then linked with the reservation corresponding to the globally uniqueidentifier (step 480). Note the reservation was created and correlatedto the globally unique identifier during the previous tagging session.The document image is then stored in the image database (step 490). Themetadata entered by the user when the reservation was created may bestored in a database separate from the document image, or may be storedas part of the document image file. The metadata entered by the user inFIG. 4 all relates to the electronic document that will exist once thepaper document is scanned. None of the metadata entered by the user inFIG. 4 relates to disposition of the paper document.

Referring to FIG. 1, computer system 100 is one suitable implementationof a computer system that could implement the document processing systemdisclosed and claimed herein. Computer system 100 could be any suitableserver system, such as an IBM eServer System i computer system. However,those skilled in the art will appreciate that the disclosure hereinapplies equally to any computer system, regardless of whether thecomputer system is a complicated multi-user computing apparatus, asingle user workstation, or an embedded control system. As shown in FIG.1, computer system 100 comprises one or more processors 110, a mainmemory 120, a mass storage interface 130, a display interface 140, and anetwork interface 150. These system components are interconnectedthrough the use of a system bus 160. Mass storage interface 130 is usedto connect mass storage devices, such as a disk drive 155, to computersystem 100. One specific type of disk drive 155 is a readable andwritable CD-RW drive, which may store data to and read data from a CD-RW195. CD-RW 195 is one suitable example of non-transitory computerreadable media.

Main memory 120 preferably contains data 121, an operating system 122,one or more scanned document folders 130, and a document processingsystem 140. Data 121 represents any data that serves as input to oroutput from any program in computer system 100. Operating system 122 isa multitasking operating system. Scanned document folder(s) 130represent one or more folders accessible via a network connection thatare the destination for documents scanned by the digitalcopier/scanners, and that need to be processed by the documentprocessing system 140. While scanned document folder(s) are shown aspart of computer system 100 in FIG. 1, one or more scanned documentfolders could alternatively or in addition reside on a separate computersystem on a network, such as a computer system 175 residing on network170. The document processing system 140 includes a document reservationsystem 142, a document disposition mechanism 144, and a qualityassurance mechanism 146. The document reservation mechanism 142 allows auser to enter metadata that is used to describe a document that needs tobe scanned. A unique identifier corresponding to a label is alsoentered, which creates a “reservation” in the document processingsystem. In other words, the metadata that describes the scanned documentis entered before the document is scanned. The unique identifier on thelabel allows the scanned document to be later correlated to thereservation for that unique identifier. This allows the metadata for thescanned document that was entered earlier to be automatically associatedwith the scanned document based on the unique identifier that wasentered as part of the metadata for the document during the documentreservation session.

The document disposition mechanism 144 allows a user to specify adisposition policy for a paper document. The document dispositionmechanism 144 can also provide a prompt to a user when a document needsto be disposed of. The document disposition mechanism can handlespecifying disposition of paper documents as well as disposition ofelectronic documents. However, in some implementations, the documentdisposition mechanism 144 will be responsible for specifying dispositionof paper documents, while specifying disposition of electronic documentsis left to other processes or systems. The quality assurance mechanism146 allows performing any needed quality assurance function with respectto the paper document and/or electronic document. For example, one suchquality assurance function is to allow a user to verify a scanneddocument accurately reflects the paper document before the document isdisposed of according to the disposition policy. The mechanisms 142, 144and 146 in the document processing system 140 are discussed in moredetail below with respect to FIGS. 5-13.

Computer system 100 utilizes well known virtual addressing mechanismsthat allow the programs of computer system 100 to behave as if they onlyhave access to a large, single storage entity instead of access tomultiple, smaller storage entities such as main memory 120 and diskdrive 155. Therefore, while data 121, operating system 122, scanneddocument folder(s) 130, and document processing system 140 are shown toreside in main memory 120, those skilled in the art will recognize thatthese items are not necessarily all completely contained in main memory120 at the same time. It should also be noted that the term “memory” isused herein generically to refer to the entire virtual memory ofcomputer system 100, and may include the virtual memory of othercomputer systems coupled to computer system 100. In addition, computersystem 100 could include one or more virtual machines, with the documentprocessing system 140 running on one of the virtual machines.

Processor 110 may be constructed from one or more microprocessors and/orintegrated circuits. Processor 110 executes program instructions storedin main memory 120. Main memory 120 stores programs and data thatprocessor 110 may access. When computer system 100 starts up, processor110 initially executes the program instructions that make up operatingsystem 122.

Although computer system 100 is shown to contain only a single processorand a single system bus, those skilled in the art will appreciate that adocument processing system as disclosed and claimed herein may bepracticed using a computer system that has multiple processors and/ormultiple buses. In addition, the interfaces that are used preferablyeach include separate, fully programmed microprocessors that are used tooff-load compute-intensive processing from processor 110. However, thoseskilled in the art will appreciate that these functions may be performedusing I/O adapters as well.

Display interface 140 is used to directly connect one or more displays165 to computer system 100. These displays 165, which may benon-intelligent (i.e., dumb) terminals or fully programmableworkstations, are used to provide system administrators and users theability to communicate with computer system 100. Note, however, thatwhile display interface 140 is provided to support communication withone or more displays 165, computer system 100 does not necessarilyrequire a display 165, because all needed interaction with users andother processes may occur via network interface 150.

Network interface 150 is used to connect computer system 100 to othercomputer systems or workstations 175 via network 170. Network interface150 broadly represents any suitable way to interconnect electronicdevices, regardless of whether the network 170 comprises present-dayanalog and/or digital techniques or via some networking mechanism of thefuture. Network interface 150 preferably includes a combination ofhardware and software that allow communicating on the network 170.Software in the network interface 150 preferably includes acommunication manager that manages communication with other computersystems or other network devices 175 via network 170 using a suitablenetwork protocol. Many different network protocols can be used toimplement a network. These protocols are specialized computer programsthat allow computers to communicate across a network. TCP/IP(Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) is an example of asuitable network protocol that may be used by the communication managerwithin the network interface 150.

As will be appreciated by one skilled in the art, aspects of thedisclosed document processing system may be embodied as a system, methodor computer program product. Accordingly, aspects of the documentprocessing system may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment,an entirely software embodiment (including firmware, resident software,micro-code, etc.) or an embodiment combining software and hardwareaspects that may all generally be referred to herein as a “circuit,”“module” or “system.” Furthermore, aspects of the document processingsystem may take the form of a computer program product embodied in oneor more computer readable medium(s) having computer readable programcode embodied thereon.

Any combination of one or more computer readable medium(s) may beutilized. The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signalmedium or a non-transitory computer readable storage medium. Anon-transitory computer readable storage medium may be, for example, butnot limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic,infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any suitablecombination of the foregoing. More specific examples (a non-exhaustivelist) of the computer readable storage medium would include thefollowing: an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portablecomputer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), aread-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROMor Flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disc read-onlymemory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device,or any suitable combination of the foregoing. In the context of thisdocument, a computer readable storage medium may be any tangible mediumthat can contain, or store a program for use by or in connection with aninstruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

Program code embodied on a computer readable medium may be transmittedusing any appropriate medium, including but not limited to wireless,wireline, optical fiber cable, RF, etc., or any suitable combination ofthe foregoing.

Computer program code for carrying out operations for aspects of thedocument processing system may be written in any combination of one ormore programming languages, including an object oriented programminglanguage such as Java, Smalltalk, C++ or the like and conventionalprocedural programming languages, such as the “C” programming languageor similar programming languages. The program code may execute entirelyon the user's computer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alonesoftware package, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remotecomputer or entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latterscenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user's computerthrough any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or awide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an externalcomputer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet ServiceProvider).

Aspects of the document processing system are described herein withreference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods,apparatus (systems) and computer program products. It will be understoodthat each block of the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams,and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and/or blockdiagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. Thesecomputer program instructions may be provided to a processor of ageneral purpose computer, special purpose computer, or otherprogrammable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such thatthe instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer orother programmable data processing apparatus, create means forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computerreadable medium that can direct a computer, other programmable dataprocessing apparatus, or other devices to function in a particularmanner, such that the instructions stored in the computer readablemedium produce an article of manufacture including instructions whichimplement the function/act specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks.

The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer,other programmable data processing apparatus, or other devices to causea series of operational steps to be performed on the computer, otherprogrammable apparatus or other devices to produce a computerimplemented process such that the instructions which execute on thecomputer or other programmable apparatus provide processes forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks.

The disclosure and claims herein improve on the prior art method 400shown in FIG. 4 by allowing the user to specify a disposition policy forthe paper document during the tagging session, and to also optionallyspecify a disposition policy for the corresponding electronic documentduring the tagging session as well. Referring to FIG. 5, the documentreservation mechanism 142 in FIG. 1 is shown to include a metadatadescription mechanism 510 and one or more document disposition policies520. The document disposition policies 520 may include a defaultdocument disposition policy 530 as well as one or more other documentdisposition policies 540. Note the document disposition policies 520could also include multiple default disposition policies according todocument type. Thus, tax returns could have a default dispositionpolicy, while wills have a different default disposition policy. Ofcourse, a user can always define a new document disposition policy ifnone of the existing document disposition policies will do. The documentdisposition policies include disposition policies relating to physicalpaper documents, and can optionally also include disposition policiesrelating to the corresponding electronic documents.

Examples of suitable document disposition policies are shown in FIGS.6-8. The Sample1 Document Disposition Policy in FIG. 6 specifies toshred the paper document immediately and purge the electronic documentfive years after the file is closed. The Sample2 Document DispositionPolicy in FIG. 7 specifies to keep the paper document forever and retainthe electronic document forever. The Sample3 Document Disposition Policyin FIG. 8 specifies to shred the paper document after 6 months. Note thetwo sample document disposition policies in FIGS. 6 and 7 specifydisposition of both the paper document as well as the electronicdocument, while the sample document disposition policy in FIG. 8 onlyspecifies disposition of the paper document. The document processingsystem disclosed and claimed herein may work in conjunction with anysuitable document management software or process, whether computer-basedor manual, that can separately determine disposition of electronicdocuments. For example, software or a manual process that is separatefrom the document processing system disclosed herein could determinewhen and how to dispose of electronic documents. This allowscoordination between disposition of paper documents and disposition ofthe corresponding electronic documents. The document disposition policydisclosed herein extends to specifying disposition of the paperdocument, and also optionally specifying disposition of the electronicdocument.

It is also within the scope of the disclosure and claims herein for thedocument processing system 140 to pass document disposition informationto a different process or program. Thus, for the example in FIG. 6 thatspecifies to purge the electronic document 5 years after the file isclosed, the document processing system 140 could notify any suitabledocument management software or process of the need to purge theelectronic document 5 years after the file is closed. By passingdocument disposition information to existing external processes orsoftware, the document processing system 140 can be integrated into alarge number of different systems and configurations.

Note the term “disposition” of a document means what is ultimately donewith the document, and does not necessarily mean the document is“disposed of” in the sense of being destroyed. As shown in FIG. 7,disposition of a paper document may include keeping the paper document,and disposition of an electronic document may include retaining theelectronic document. Note also that “document retention” and “documentdestruction” may often be thought of as different sides of the samecoin. Thus, when a company has a document retention policy, the policytypically specifies time periods for retaining documents, after whichthe documents may be destroyed. Thus, a document retention policy canalso inherently be a document destruction policy. For the example givenin FIG. 6, the document disposition policy specifies to shred the paperdocument immediately, which implies no retention of the paper document.Similarly, the document disposition policy in FIG. 6 specifies to purgethe electronic document five years after the file is closed, which meansto retain the electronic document for five years, after which theelectronic document can be purged. The disclosure and claims hereinextend to any suitable document disposition policy however expressed,whether currently known or developed in the future. For example,disposition of a paper document could include other options besideskeeping and shredding, such as sending the paper document to the client.

Referring to FIG. 9, a method 900 shows steps that are not currentlyperformed in prior art method 400 shown in FIG. 4 that are performed bythe document processing system 140 in FIG. 1. A document dispositionpolicy is specified in the reservation for the paper document (step910). Once the document is scanned, any needed quality assuranceprocessing for the scanned image of the document is performed (step920). Quality assurance (QA) processing can include any suitableprocessing that could be needed. Examples of quality assuranceprocessing are shown in FIG. 10 to include assure the scanned imageexists and is accurate 1010; verify completeness and accuracy of themetadata for the scanned document 1020; verify the scanned document iswritten to the document management system 1030; verify any neededworkflows are triggered 1040; and build an audit trail 1050. Assuringthe scanned image exists and is accurate 1010 may include any suitablesteps or functions, such as scanning the label on the document with abar code reader, which provides access to both the metadata for thedocument as well as the scanned image for the document, assuming thedocument has already been scanned. This allows a quality assurance userto use existing barcode scanners that are already used for managingpaper documents. Assuring the scanned image exists and is accurate 1010can include the steps of checking to make sure the document image hasbeen captured, making sure the image quality is good, and making sureall pages got scanned. A simple example will illustrate. Let's assumepage 2 of the scanned document is upside down, page 3 of the document ismissing, and page 4 of the document has part of the text cut off. Ahuman user will inspect the scanned document and notice these issuesfrom a comparison with the paper document (step 930=NO) and takecorrective action (step 940). For the simple example above, thecorrective action could be rotating page 2 180 degrees, re-scanningpages 3 and 4 of the document, then inserting the re-scanned pages 3 and4 into the document in the place of pages 3 and 4. Once the correctiveaction is taken, step 930 will determine whether QA processing iscomplete (step 930). If not (step 930=NO), more corrective action can betaken (step 940). Once all QA processing is complete (step 930=YES), thedisposition of the paper document is scheduled according to thespecified disposition policy (step 950).

Verifying completeness and accuracy of the metadata for the scanneddocument 1020 can include making sure all needed fields are filled out,and making sure the entries in those fields are accurate. Note thesefields preferably include all the metadata fields that were available tothe user during the tagging session, and may also include other fieldsas well. Verifying the scanned document is written to the documentmanagement system 1030 can include making sure the electronic documentis written to the appropriate location in a separate document managementsystem so the document management system can manage the electronicdocument. Verifying any needed workflows are triggered 1040 can includemaking sure that any needed processes relating to the document, bothmanual and computer-based, are initiated. An example of a neededworkflow is to send an e-mail to a user notifying the user of somethingrelating to the processing of the document. Building an audit trail 1050involves tracking each operation performed on a document and whoperformed that operation so the audit trail includes a complete historyof actions taken with respect to the document and the people who tookthose actions. The audit trail ensures process integrity controls andreports are in place before disposition of the physical document occurs.The specific examples of quality assurance processing shown in FIG. 10are shown by way of example, and are not limiting. The disclosure andclaims herein expressly extend to any quality assurance processing, bothmanual and computer-based, that needs to be performed as a result ofprocessing the paper document, the electronic document, or both.

FIG. 11 shows a flow diagram of a method 1100 in accordance with thedisclosure and claims herein that is one suitable implementation thatincludes steps shown in method 900 shown in FIG. 9. Note that steps 410,420, 430, 440, 450, 460, 470, 480 and 490 in method 1100 in FIG. 11 arethe same numbered steps as in prior art method 400 in FIG. 4. However,additional steps 910, 1110 and 950 have been added. Step 910 allows theuser to specify a disposition policy for the document in the reservationfor the document, as shown in step 910 in FIG. 9. Step 950 schedulesdisposition of the paper document according to the specified dispositionpolicy, as shown in step 950 in FIG. 9. Step 1110 assures QA processingfor the scanned image is complete, such as the processing shown in steps920, 930 and 940 in FIG. 9. Method 1100 thus allows a user to define adisposition policy for a document during a tagging session, and once anyappropriate quality assurance processing is performed, the dispositionof the document can be scheduled.

A simple example is now given in FIGS. 12 and 13 that illustrates howdisposition of a document could be specified during a tagging session inthe document reservation system. FIG. 12 shows a display window 1200that represents a tab “Profile Document” in the document reservationsystem. For this specific example, the user can enter a client number, aclient, a matter number, a document type, an author, notes, and a date.The user can also specify the label number. Note the label number willnormally not have to be modified by the user, because the labels arenumbered sequentially, which means the document reservation mechanismwill automatically fill in the number of the next label in the LabelNumber field. Or course, if the user needs to change the label number,such as if a label is damaged, the user can enter the correct labelnumber. In addition, some documents, such as tax forms, may not haveenough room for a label. In this case a cover sheet may be printed withthe barcoded label instead of placing an adhesive label on the documentitself. When this is the case, the user can select the “Print CoverSheet” option shown in FIG. 12. The disclosure and claims herein applyregardless of whether an adhesive label or cover sheet is used. Thus,applying a label to the document can include either applying an adhesivelabel to the document or printing a label to a coversheet for thedocument.

The fields in FIG. 12 represent metadata that describes a document. Inthe most preferred implementation, the user defines this metadata beforethe document is scanned. Of course, it is equally within the scope ofthe disclosure and claims herein to create a reservation that includesno metadata or less than all the desired metadata, as long as the labelnumber is identified. The user could then go back and enter the desiredmetadata at a later time, even after the document is scanned. Once theuser has entered all the metadata the user desires to define in thedocument reservation system, the user clicks on the OK button, whichcauses a reservation to be created with the specified metadata,including the label number. This reservation can then be matched laterto the document image after the document is scanned and the label numberon the label is extracted from the scanned image of the document.

In addition to specifying metadata for the document in the window 1200shown in FIG. 12, the user can also specify a disposition policy for thepaper document, and can optionally also define a disposition policy forthe electronic document, as shown in window 1300 in FIG. 13. Note theavailable disposition policies for the paper document include a defaultdisposition policy that can be selected by the user. Note also thatdifferent default disposition policies could be specified for differentdocument types, as shown in FIG. 14. Thus, a tax return could have adefault disposition policy of shredding after five years, while a willcould have a default disposition policy of keeping the paper documentforever. Window 1300 could include one or more drop-down lists thatinclude several different defined disposition policies that could beselected by the user. In addition, the user could define a newdisposition policy for the document if none of the defined dispositionpolicies will do. Once the user specifies the applicable dispositionpolicy for the document, the user selects the OK button, which causesthe disposition policy to be added as metadata to the documentreservation. In this manner the disposition policy for a document can bespecified at the time a reservation for the document is created. Thisdisposition policy can then be used to determine disposition of thedocument once all required QA processing is complete.

While the metadata related to document disposition shown in FIG. 13 ismetadata stored before the paper document is scanned, this metadatadiffers from the metadata that profiles the document to be scanned, asshown in FIG. 12. The metadata in FIG. 12 relates to the electronicversion of the document to be scanned. The metadata in FIG. 13, incontrast, relates to disposition of the paper document, and canoptionally also relate to disposition of the electronic document aswell. No known prior art systems allow specifying metadata that relatesto disposition of the paper document before the paper document is evenscanned.

Referring to FIG. 15, a method 1500 shows how the document dispositionpolicy can be used when handling the paper document. The documentidentifier on the paper document is scanned (step 1510). The identifiercan be on a label on the document itself, or on a cover sheet for thedocument. The identifier may be scanned, for example, using any suitablemachine-readable reader, such as a bar code scanner. The dispositionpolicy for the paper document is retrieved (step 1520). When thedisposition policy indicates the document can be shredded now (step1530=YES), the user is prompted “OK to Shred” (step 1540). For example,the disposition policy may indicate the document can be shredded now(step 1530=YES) once the document has been scanned and all neededquality assurance processing has been completed. When the dispositionpolicy does not allow for shredding the document now (step 1530=NO), theuser is prompted “Store in Location X” (step 1550). Note method 1500 maybe performed some time after the initial quality assurance processing insteps 920, 930 and 940 in FIG. 9, which are also represented in step1110 in FIG. 11. Thus, the disposition policy can also be used at theback end of the process to make sure a document can be shredded beforeit is actually shredded. A simple example will illustrate. Let's assumethe document processing system has identified many documents forshredding, and these documents are all placed in one or more boxes. As afinal check, the user could scan the label on the document just beforeputting the document into the shredder. If the document should beshredded, the user will receive the “OK to Shred” message. If not, theuser will get a different message, indicating the document should not beshredded. The disposition policy thus allows for a final back-end checkbefore a paper document is shredded.

Many executives and managers understandably get very nervous aboutdestroying physical documents. The document disposition mechanism allowsa check and double-check before destroying a physical document.Referring to FIG. 16, a method 1600 is preferably performed by thedocument disposition mechanism 144 in FIG. 1, and begins by providingnotification when a physical document should be destroyed (step 1610).This notification could happen, for example, to a user in a file roomwhere files are stored. This notification could be the result of thedocument disposition mechanism monitoring the document dispositionpolicies for many documents, and providing the notification when thedocument disposition policy for a document is satisfied, indicating thephysical document needs to be destroyed. The user then retrieves thedocument and scans the unique identifier on the document (step 1620).When the document disposition policy does not allow destroying thedocument (step 1630=NO), the user is prompted to keep (i.e., notdestroy) the document (step 1632). Step 1630 is the first check in thedouble check process for verifying documents should be destroyed. Whenthe document disposition policy is satisfied so the document should bedestroyed (step 1630=YES), the user that scanned the document in step1620 is prompted with a message that indicates the physical document maybe destroyed (step 1640). The physical document is then sent to adestruction station or facility (step 1650). This can be done, forexample, by placing the physical document in a container for documentsto be destroyed, then transporting the container to the destructionstation or facility. Some companies perform document destructionin-house, some have off-site document destruction facilities, and someuse third party contractors to perform document destruction. With all ofthese, there are typically special containers that are designated fordocument destruction. In the prior art, once documents are placed in thecontainers designated for document destruction, the documents are thendestroyed. Method 1600, however, provides a second check at thedestruction station or facility to make sure the physical documentshould be destroyed before destroying the physical document. A user atthe destruction station or facility scans the unique identifier on thephysical document (step 1660). A check is made to assure the documentdisposition policy for the document is satisfied, which allows fordestroying the physical document. When the document disposition policyis not satisfied, indicating the physical document should not bedestroyed (step 1670=NO), the physical document is returned (step 1672).When the document disposition policy is satisfied, indicating thephysical document should be destroyed (step 1670=YES), the user isprompted that the physical document can be destroyed (step 1680). Theuser then destroys the physical document (step 1690) in any suitableway, including shredding, incineration, or any other suitable way todestroy documents, whether currently known or developed in the future.Providing the double-check before destroying documents gives executiveand managers another level of assurance that only documents that shouldbe destroyed are actually destroyed.

FIG. 11 shows many different steps in processing documents. These stepscan actually be performed in many different stages. In fact, in mostcompanies that scan documents, there are many different people indifferent departments that are responsible for different stages ofdocument processing. FIGS. 17-23 are presented to illustrate differentstages of document processing. For this example, we assume a large lawfirm uses the document processing system disclosed herein. Referring toFIG. 17, method 1700 begins when a paper document is received (step1710). The paper document is then placed in a first holding area that isdesignated for documents that need reservations created so they can bescanned (step 1720). In our example, the mail room of the law firm couldperform the steps in method 1700. When a physical document is receivedin the mail (step 1710), the document could be placed in a tray or boxdesignated for documents that need to have reservations created beforescanning (step 1720).

Method 1800 in FIG. 18 shows another possible stage in the processing ofthe document. We assume in our example there is a separate department inthe law firm for creating reservations for documents. Thus, the tray orbox designated for documents that need to have reservations created canbe transported from the mail room to the department for creatingreservations for documents. Note the “first holding area” in the flowdiagrams is not a static location, but a location (such as a tray, boxor bin) that can be moved from one department to the next. We assume inmethod 1800 the tray, box or bin that is the first holding area in step1720 is transported to the department responsible for creating documentreservations. A paper document is then retrieved from the first holdingarea (step 1810). A reservation for the document is created (step 1820).Metadata for the document is specified in the reservation, including aglobally unique identifier (step 1830). A document disposition policy isspecified in the reservation for the paper document (step 1840). Theglobally unique identifier is then applied to the paper document (step1850). This can be done using a label, by printing the globally uniqueidentifier on the first page of the document, or by printing theglobally unique identifier on a cover sheet for the document. Once thereservation is created, the paper document is placed in a second holdingarea that is designated for documents for which a reservation has beencreated and which now need to be scanned (step 1860). The second holdingarea is preferably a tray, box or bin that can be transported to thedocument scanning department for processing.

We assume the tray, box or bin corresponding to the second holding areais then transported from the document reservation department to thedocument scanning department. At this point method 1900 can be performedby one or more users in the document scanning department. The paperdocument is retrieved from the second holding area (step 1910). Thedocument is then scanned or imaged (step 1920). The globally uniqueidentifier in the scanned image of the document is extracted (step1930). The document image is then lined with the reservationcorresponding to the globally unique identifier (step 1940). Theelectronic document is then stored in the document management system(step 1950). At this point in time, the electronic document includes notonly the scanned images of the document pages, but also includes thereservation information. The paper document is then placed in a thirdholding area for documents that need quality assurance processing (step1960). The third holding area is preferably a tray, box or bin that canbe transported to the quality assurance department for processing.

We assume the tray, box or bin corresponding to the third holding areais then transported from the document scanning department to the qualityassurance department. At this point method 2000 can be performed by oneor more users in the quality assurance department. A paper document isretrieved from the third holding area (step 2010). The globally uniqueidentifier on the physical document is then scanned (step 2020). Qualityassurance processing is then performed for the document (step 2030)based on the scanned globally unique identifier received from thescanner. The quality assurance processing in step 2030 is performed by auser in the quality assurance department using software such as thequality assurance mechanism 146 shown in FIG. 1. Once quality assuranceprocessing is complete, the quality assurance status for the document isupdated (step 2040). Updating the quality assurance status for thedocument preferably includes updating status for the document in thequality assurance software, such as the quality assurance mechanism 146shown in FIG. 1. The paper document is then placed in a specifiedstorage location (step 2050). Note the specified storage location canvary according to the document disposition policy. For example, if thedocument disposition policy specifies to return the document to theattorney, the specified storage location could be the attorney's file.If the document disposition policy specifies to shred the documentimmediately, the specified storage location could be a bin for documentsthat need to be shredded. If the document disposition policy specifiesto file the document until six months after the matter is closed, thespecified storage location could be the central file repository for thefirm. Of course, other storage locations could also be specified in step2050.

Method 2100 in FIG. 21 shows possible steps that could be performedduring steps 2030 and 2050 in FIG. 20. The document being reviewed isverified to be the same document stored in the document managementsystem (step 2110). This is an important step to make sure the documentbeing reviewed is the same as the stored document. The verificationperformed in step 2110 can be performed in any suitable way. Forexample, a checksum could be computed for the document being reviewedand for the document stored in the document management system, and ifthe checksums match, the document being reviewed is the same as thedocument stored in the document management system. Of course, othermethods could be used to compare the documents, including a fullcomparison of the detailed contents of the document being reviewedagainst the detailed contents of the document stored in the documentmanagement system. Step 2110 expressly extends to any suitable methodfor comparing two electronic documents, whether currently known ordeveloped in the future.

Once the document being reviewed is verified in step 2110 to be the sameas the document stored in the document management system, a user in thequality assurance department visually verifies image quality of thedocument (step 2120). The user also verifies the disposition policy forthe document (step 2130), and places the paper document in a holdingarea corresponding to the disposition policy (step 2140), as discussedin detail above.

Method 2200 in FIG. 22 shows steps that could be performed during thequality assurance processing in step 2030 in FIG. 20. Steps 2210, 2220and 2230 are steps that could be performed to visually verify imagequality in step 2120 in FIG. 21. A user in the quality assurancedepartment verifies the page count (step 2210). This can be done, forexample, by verifying the scanned document has the same number of pagesas the physical document. The user can also visually verify fromthumbnails or full page images whether all of the pages are in thecorrect orientation (step 2220). For example, if one of the pages of adocument was placed in the stack of document pages upside down, thequality assurance user could visually detect the page is upside down.The quality assurance user can also visually verify the completeness ofeach page (step 2230). Sometimes document feeders don't feed a pagecorrectly, which can result in the page image being cut off or otherwiseincomplete. If there are any problems in steps 2210, 2220 or 2230, adesignated quality assurance user can take corrective action to correctthe problem, as shown in step 940 in FIG. 9. For example, the qualityassurance user could scan any missing or incomplete pages, and couldrotate any pages not in the correct orientation. The quality assuranceuser can also verify the completeness and accuracy of the metadata forthe scanned document (step 2240). This metadata can include informationentered during the document reservation session. The quality assuranceuser can also verify that any needed workflows are triggered (step2250). For example, if the document disposition policy specifies theshred the physical document six months after the document is enteredinto the document management system, the user could schedule theshredding of the document at the appropriate date six months away, andmove the physical document to a holding bin designated for that purpose.An audit trail can also be built for the document (step 2260) thatindicates all the operations performed on the document and who performedthose operations. The audit trail can be built by the softwareperforming the quality assurance processing, such as the qualityassurance mechanism 146 in FIG. 1. Note that steps 2240, 2250 and 2260correspond to 1030, 1040 and 1050, respectively, in FIG. 10 discussedabove.

Because the quality assurance processing in FIGS. 20, 21 and 22 areperformed after a document reservation has been created and after thedocument has been scanned, linked to the document reservation, andstored in the document management system, the quality assuranceprocessing can be initiated and every step of the quality assuranceprocessing can be documented using the same unique identifier that isused for tracking the physical document throughout its life. A simpleexample will illustrate. Let's assume the steps in method 2000 in FIG.20 have been performed, and the specified storage location in step 2050is the central file repository for the law firm. Let's assume anattorney needs an original document to take to a deposition. The stepsin method 2300 in FIG. 23 could be performed. A person in the centralfile repository could retrieve the paper document from the file (step2310), scan the globally unique identifier on the document (step 2320),and perform any needed processing on the document (step 2330), which forthis example would include designating the document is being moved fromthe central file repository to the attorney. The paper document is thensent to the attorney (step 2340). By integrating quality assuranceprocessing as part of the work flow for a document and by using the sameglobally unique identifier to initiate and perform the quality assuranceprocessing, the way documents are handled is uniform across the variousdepartments that handle documents.

The figures and specification discussed above thus support an apparatuscomprising: at least one processor; a memory coupled to the at least oneprocessor; a document processing system residing in the memory andexecuted by the at least one processor, the document processing systemcomprising: a quality assurance mechanism that receives from a scanner ascanned unique identifier on a physical document, verifies a scanneddocument corresponding to the unique identifier corresponds to acorresponding stored document in a document management system, andallows a user to visually verify image quality of the scanned document.

The figures and specification discussed above additionally support acomputer-implemented method executed by at least one processor forprocessing documents, the method comprising: receiving from a scanner ascanned unique identifier on a physical document; verifying a scanneddocument corresponding to the unique identifier corresponds to acorresponding stored document in a document management system; andallowing a user to visually verify image quality of the scanneddocument.

The figures and specification discussed above further support acomputer-implemented method executed by at least one processor forprocessing documents, the method comprising: receiving from a scanner ascanned unique identifier on a label on a physical document; verifying ascanned document corresponding to the unique identifier corresponds to acorresponding stored document in a document management system; allowinga user to visually verify image quality of the scanned document by:verifying a page count of the scanned document corresponds to a pagecount of the physical document; verifying each page of the scanneddocument is in a correct orientation; and verifying each page of thescanned document is complete; allowing the user to initiate any neededcorrective action when the page count is not verified; allowing the userto initiate any needed corrective action when the correct orientation ofeach page of the scanned document is not verified; allowing the user toinitiate any needed corrective action when completeness of the scanneddocument is not verified; allowing the user to verify completeness andaccuracy of metadata in the scanned document; allowing the user toverify any needed workflows for the scanned document and the physicaldocument are triggered; and allowing the user to verify building of anaudit trail for the scanned document.

The figures and specification discussed above also support acomputer-implemented method executed by at least one processor forprocessing documents, the method comprising: creating a reservation fora physical document; specifying in the reservation for the physicaldocument metadata corresponding to the physical document, where themetadata includes a unique identifier of a label that is applied to thephysical document and further includes a disposition policy for thephysical document; applying the label to the physical document; scanningthe physical document to generate an electronic document correspondingto the physical document; reading the unique identifier of the label inthe electronic document; linking the electronic document with thereservation for the physical document based on the unique identifier ofthe label; storing the electronic document in a database; receiving froma scanner the scanned unique identifier on the label on the physicaldocument; verifying a scanned document corresponding to the uniqueidentifier corresponds to a corresponding stored document in a documentmanagement system; allowing a user to visually verify image quality ofthe scanned document by: verifying a page count of the scanned documentcorresponds to a page count of the physical document; verifying eachpage of the scanned document is in a correct orientation; and verifyingeach page of the scanned document is complete; allowing the user toinitiate any needed corrective action when the page count is notverified; allowing the user to initiate any needed corrective actionwhen the correct orientation of each page of the scanned document is notverified; allowing the user to initiate any needed corrective actionwhen completeness of the scanned document is not verified; allowing theuser to verify the disposition policy for the physical document;allowing the user to verify completeness and accuracy of metadata in thescanned document; allowing the user to verify any needed workflows forthe scanned document and the physical document are triggered; andallowing the user to verify building of an audit trail for the scanneddocument.

In the discussion herein, the terms “scanned document” and “electronicdocument” are used interchangeably to refer to an electronic file thatcontains images of the paper document, while the term “paper document”is used herein to refer to the hard copy document in paper form. Thediscussion herein uses paper documents as one suitable example ofphysical documents. Note, however, that physical documents can includeany physical embodiment of a document, including paper, recordablemedia, optical media, integrated circuits, or any other physical form ofa document. The disclosure and claims herein expressly extend toverifying any physical form of a document, whether currently known ordeveloped in the future, should be destroyed.

A document processing system performs quality assurance processing afterscanning to assure all needed processing is performed for the physicaldocument and the corresponding electronic document. The qualityassurance processing can include verifying the document being reviewedis the same as the document stored in the document management system,verifying the image quality for each page in the scanned document, andverifying a disposition policy for the physical document. Otherprocessing for both the physical document and electronic document mayalso be performed during quality assurance processing.

One skilled in the art will appreciate that many variations are possiblewithin the scope of the claims. Thus, while the disclosure isparticularly shown and described above, it will be understood by thoseskilled in the art that these and other changes in form and details maybe made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of theclaims.

The invention claimed is:
 1. An apparatus comprising: at least oneprocessor; a memory coupled to the at least one processor; a documentprocessing system residing in the memory and executed by the at leastone processor, the document processing system comprising: a qualityassurance mechanism that receives from a scanner a scanned uniqueidentifier on a physical document, and in response: verifies a scanneddocument corresponding to the unique identifier corresponds to acorresponding stored document in a document management system, allows auser to visually verify image quality of the scanned document by:verifying a page count of the scanned document corresponds to a pagecount of the physical document; verifying each page of the scanneddocument is in a correct orientation; and verifying each page of thescanned document is complete; and allows the user to initiate any neededcorrective action when the page count is not verified, when the correctorientation of each page of the scanned document is not verified, andwhen completeness of the scanned document is not verified.
 2. Theapparatus of claim 1 wherein the quality assurance mechanism furtherallows the user to verify a specified disposition policy for thephysical document.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the qualityassurance mechanism further allows the user to verify completeness andaccuracy of metadata in the scanned document, to verify any neededworkflows for the scanned document and the physical document aretriggered, and to verify building of an audit trail for the scanneddocument.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the quality assurancemechanism further allows the user to verify completeness and accuracy ofmetadata in the scanned document.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1 whereinthe quality assurance mechanism further allows the user to verify anyneeded workflows for the scanned document and the physical document aretriggered.
 6. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the quality assurancemechanism further allows the user to verify building of an audit trailfor the scanned document.
 7. A computer-implemented method executed byat least one processor for processing documents, the method comprising:receiving from a scanner a scanned unique identifier on a physicaldocument, and in response: verifying a scanned document corresponding tothe unique identifier corresponds to a corresponding stored document ina document management system; and allowing a user to visually verifyimage quality of the scanned document by: verifying a page count of thescanned document corresponds to a page count of the physical document;verifying each page of the scanned document is in a correct orientation;and verifying each page of the scanned document is complete; allowingthe user to initiate any needed corrective action when the page count isnot verified, when the correct orientation of each page of the scanneddocument is not verified, and when completeness of the scanned documentis not verified.
 8. The method of claim 7 further comprising allowingthe user to verify a specified disposition policy for the physicaldocument.
 9. The method of claim 7 further comprising allowing the userto verify completeness and accuracy of metadata in the scanned document,to verify any needed workflows for the scanned document and the physicaldocument are triggered, and to verify building of an audit trail for thescanned document.
 10. The method of claim 7 further comprising allowingthe user to verify completeness and accuracy of metadata in the scanneddocument.
 11. The method of claim 7 further comprising allowing the userto verify any needed workflows for the scanned document and the physicaldocument are triggered.
 12. The method of claim 7 further comprisingallowing the user to verify building of an audit trail for the scanneddocument.
 13. A computer-implemented method executed by at least oneprocessor for processing documents, the method comprising: receivingfrom a scanner a scanned unique identifier on a label on a physicaldocument; verifying a scanned document corresponding to the uniqueidentifier corresponds to a corresponding stored document in a documentmanagement system; allowing a user to visually verify image quality ofthe scanned document by: verifying a page count of the scanned documentcorresponds to a page count of the physical document; verifying eachpage of the scanned document is in a correct orientation; and verifyingeach page of the scanned document is complete; allowing the user toinitiate any needed corrective action when the page count is notverified; allowing the user to initiate any needed corrective actionwhen the correct orientation of each page of the scanned document is notverified; allowing the user to initiate any needed corrective actionwhen completeness of the scanned document is not verified; allowing theuser to verify completeness and accuracy of metadata in the scanneddocument; allowing the user to verify any needed workflows for thescanned document and the physical document are triggered; and allowingthe user to verify building of an audit trail for the scanned document.14. A method for processing documents, the method comprising: creating areservation for a physical document; specifying in the reservation forthe physical document metadata corresponding to the physical document,where the metadata includes a unique identifier of a label that isapplied to the physical document and further includes a dispositionpolicy for the physical document; applying the label to the physicaldocument; scanning the physical document to generate an electronicdocument corresponding to the physical document; reading the uniqueidentifier of the label in the electronic document; linking theelectronic document with the reservation for the physical document basedon the unique identifier of the label; storing the electronic documentin a database; receiving from a scanner the scanned unique identifier onthe label on the physical document; verifying a scanned documentcorresponding to the unique identifier corresponds to a correspondingstored document in a document management system; allowing a user tovisually verify image quality of the scanned document by: verifying apage count of the scanned document corresponds to a page count of thephysical document; verifying each page of the scanned document is in acorrect orientation; and verifying each page of the scanned document iscomplete; allowing the user to initiate any needed corrective actionwhen the page count is not verified; allowing the user to initiate anyneeded corrective action when the correct orientation of each page ofthe scanned document is not verified; allowing the user to initiate anyneeded corrective action when completeness of the scanned document isnot verified; allowing the user to verify the disposition policy for thephysical document; allowing the user to verify completeness and accuracyof metadata in the scanned document; allowing the user to verify anyneeded workflows for the scanned document and the physical document aretriggered; and allowing the user to verify building of an audit trailfor the scanned document.